LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 209 Above
Anthony listened attentively as he watched the old man devour the stones like candy. The stone elder continued, "He approached the stone being, much larger than him, and tore off a piece of his stone. With it, he molded and created the first stone woman of his kind. Together, they created stone babies, and as they grew, they also generated more offspring. For thousands of years, we thrived in harmony.
Until he came, a horrible and disastrous being. He killed us one by one, took everything we were. He took away our names and our identity. He locked us in here with him, in this pyramid, in this space. The stone men lost everything," Anthony concluded, sensing a hint of sadness in the old man's voice and eyes.
"Why did he attack you?" Persephone asked, visibly intrigued by the story. The old man fell silent for a moment before responding, "He wanted our mother stone, a beautiful shiny crystalline stone. According to our ancestors, it was the eye of the large stone being."
Anthony raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the revelation. "Perfect, now we know what the material is," he thought to himself. Then, addressing the old man, he asked, "Where is the being that locked you in here?" The old man, looking at the ceiling, responded simply, "Upstairs."
Anthony hesitated for a moment before asking, "How can we go up?" The stone elder looked at them for a few seconds before responding, "The only way to go up is as a stone." Persephone, confused, asked, "A stone?" The old man put more stones into his mouth and nodded, "Yes, a stone. Surely you've noticed the flesh skeletons lying on the floor in some places.
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They also tried to go up but failed and died."
Then, the old man pointed at Persephone's arm with his finger, "A stone." Persephone directed her gaze to her arms and opened her mouth in shock, "What's happening to me!" she exclaimed as she watched a part of her arm turn to stone. Anthony also noticed the change and his eyes widened as he saw a part of his own arm turning to stone.
"As I said, you can only go up if you're a stone. Right now, you're still in time to do it, but the longer you stay in this pyramid, the more you'll become like stone men," the old man warned as he stood up. "Follow me," he added, leaving the ruined house.
Anthony looked again at his arm, a rather big trap indeed. This whole pyramid was a trap. The moment they entered this floor, they had already fallen into it. If he turned into a stone man, they would be literally dead and disqualified. Looking at Persephone, he nodded. They couldn't do much more than follow the old man.
Walking alongside him, they arrived in front of huge stone doors. "Through these doors is the way up. We cannot go up; we don't have the strength and we fear that thing upstairs," the old man explained as he touched the doors. They reacted and slowly opened with a creak.
"According to my father, the crystal stone is incomplete," the old man murmured. Anthony looked towards the stairs that rose into darkness. "Where is the other part?" he asked, as the old man's eyes turned opaque.
"In the stone men," the old man replied before slowly walking away from the place. Persephone watched him leave, feeling doubtful. "Do you believe what he said?" she asked Anthony. He shrugged as he began to climb the stairs. "It's the only option we have. Besides, we don't have much time left.
We have about two hours before we become completely stone men, so let's go up," he added, sighing. Persephone looked at her arm, which was more than halfway turned to stone, and followed Anthony.
*****
Charlotte's POV
"Hmph," grunted Charlotte as she looked at a boy on the ground, with the boy's ring in her hands. "It's been almost a week! And he still hasn't found me!" she exclaimed, puffing her cheeks as she kicked the boy's body in frustration. The poor lifeless body shifted slightly to the side. She was extremely annoyed; she needed to find Anthony by her side.
She surveyed the place where she had spent the past few days since arriving at the event: mountains and more mountains, and nothing else. The moment she opened her eyes, she found herself atop a mountain. She had to descend and explore, but she realized that in all directions, there were only mountain ranges surrounding the forest.
During all those days, she had only managed to find a low-grade mana crystal, and it was indeed well hidden. However, today she encountered a boy with white hair that stood out in the distance. She ran towards him with a smile on her face, but upon examining him closely, she realized that his hair wasn't white at all. She killed him instantly and robbed him of the ring.
Upon examining the inside, a small smile appeared on her lips as she saw some mana stones and some shiny coins. "Good, good," she murmured satisfactorily as she kicked the boy's body again. Meanwhile, the boy, outside of the dimension, watched as they kicked his body and spat out a mouthful of blood.
She also found some food, which slightly improved her mood. Despite this, she still felt somewhat disheartened. She decided to walk towards the borders of the place, feeling the sensation that her husband wasn't in that place. Still, a slight smile formed on her lips as she began to hum a tune. Looking around, she saw green trees and some dry ones.
Her purple mana emanated from her hands as she explored the area, but she couldn't perceive anything of importance. However, at one point, she noticed something atop one of the trees: a crystallized fruit.
After a few minutes, Charlotte was eating the fruit. "Just wait for me, darling, I'm coming for you!" she shouted, a small laugh escaping her lips, her eyes gleaming slightly as she thought of Anthony.